There's No Easy Button For This
by Comedicdrama
Summary: AU. Cas is a socially awkward computer repair nerd, and Dean has been his friend since they were in high school. Dean is a mechanic, he's hopeless with computers so he's always calling Cas to come and fix the one he has in the shop.
1. Chapter 1

Thirty minutes after the call had been made, the bell above the door dinged alerting Dean that someone had come into the shop. When he looked around the corner, Cas was standing at the counter, small smile on his lips.

"I'm beginning to think you break your computer on purpose, Dean."

"Maybe I just like your company."

Cas snorted at the thought. "Yeah right. So, what'd you do this time?"

"Well, I tried to turn on the computer, and it just didn't turn on."

"Dean Winchester has a problem turning something on? Shocker. Did you try dancing for it?"

"Hardy-har-har. You gonna fix it, or what?"

"Don't I always?"

Dean gave Cas a goofy smile. "Of course. That's why I call you."

"No, that's why you _pay_ me. Lord knows why you _call_ me."

Cas bent over to grab the PC from the dirty floor. Dean couldn't help but stare and try to picture what Cas would look like bent over without his nerdy khakis.

"Are you listening to me?"

"What?" Dean was snapped out of his reverie by Cas, who was giving him a confused look while holding the computer.

"I said I already know what's wrong with it. You destroyed the power supply. It certainly doesn't help that you keep it on the disgusting floor. Probably clogged it, and then it just died."

Dean would like to see Cas laid out on that disgusting floor... "So what's that mean?"

"It means I need to bring it to my place, replace the power supply, and bring it back. Pretty simple."

"Oh... okay. Do you want me to pick it up at your place, or will you bring it back here when you're done?"

"I can bring it back, not a problem. Shouldn't take too long."

Dean smiled, "Yeah, okay. See you soon, then."

"Yeah. Be back soon, Dean."

Dean watched as Cas walked out the door, quietly cursing himself for not working up the balls to ask the man out. Sure, it was a recent revelation that he was in love with his best friend, but he could at least see if Cas felt the same way about him.

It wasn't even an hour before Cas returned, PC in hand. "You know, it wouldn't kill you to clean this thing out once in a while. I'm pretty sure there was an actual mouse living inside the case."

"I'll keep that in mind. Did you fix it?"

"Well, I found the mouse a new home, and I replaced the power supply. Works just fine now." Cas bent over to hook the PC back up. Dean, once again, couldn't help but stare. He had a strange tingly feeling deep inside his stomach.

"We should go out for dinner tonight." Dean wasn't really sure where that came from. He was amazed he managed to say it.

Cas faltered for a minute, but continued hooking up the computer. He stood back up, and turned the computer on. "Yeah, sounds good. I'll take food as payment."

"Oh... Yeah, I guess that works." Dean felt oddly disappointed. That wasn't the response he was expecting. But it was something, right?

"Did you have somewhere specific in mind?"

"Nah. We can just go to the usual bar."

"Yeah, okay. Want me to meet you there? What time?"

"No, no. I'll pick you up. 7-ish."

"Alright. Sounds good to me. You're buying, right?"

Dean smiled, "Yeah, of course."

"Make sure you shower first. You're covered in grease."

"Yes, mother."

When 7:00 rolled around, Dean was outside of Cas' house waiting in his Impala. It was hard not to hear that car idling in the driveway, so Cas headed outside, smiling the whole way.

Cas climbed into the passenger seat, "Hey Dean. Why are you so dressed up?"

Dean just smiled, "No reason. You ready to go?"

"Yeah, I'm starving."

"Good."

Dean shifted the Impala into gear, and drove off. Pretty soon, they were approaching their usual bar, however Dean wasn't slowing down.

Cas turned his head, watching the bar pass by. He was obviously confused. "What's wrong? You missed the bar."

You could hear the grin in Dean's voice. "We're not going to the bar."

"Oh, but you said-"

"Don't worry about it, Cas. I'm buying, remember? Trust me."

Dean continued down the road, and Cas looked around, trying to guess where they were going. It's not that he didn't trust Dean, but Dean wasn't one to be spontaneous like that. "Is it my birthday, or something? What's with the surprises? And why are you dressed up?"

"Cas, just shut up. And I think you'd know if it was your birthday, goof."

"Ooookay." Cas just hummed in curiosity.

Not long after, the Impala pulled into a seemingly full parking lot.

Cas' eyes widened when he realized where they were. "Dean..."

Dean ignored him as he circled the lot trying to find an empty parking space.

"Dean, the part didn't cost me that much... This place is waaaay too expensive."

Dean just grinned again. "Don't worry about it."

He found a spot, and parked the monster of a car. He quickly killed the ignition, got out, and made his way to Cas' door, opening it for him.

Cas just sat in his seat, refusing to get out, even when Dean extended his hand to him. "What's going on? Are you dying or something?"

"What? Can't I be nice to you?"

Cas crossed his arms, giving Dean a look. "No. You can't. What's the deal?"

Dean pulled Cas out of the car. He'd get him in the restaurant if he had to drag him in there kicking and screaming. "Nothing. Now let's go eat. I'm hungry."

The restaurant was packed, the line nearly reaching the door. Everyone waiting was pretty dressed up, so Cas felt a little awkward in his grubby blue jeans.

"Dean..."

Dean made his way to the front of the line, stopping at the hostess' podium. "Reservation for Winchester."

The hostess checked her list, "Ah, yes. Two for Winchester. Your table is ready. Right this way."

Dean smiled over at Cas who was looking at him in disbelief before following the hostess. The people in line gave the pair some odd looks, but Dean seemed to ignore it. Cas, however, began to feel really uncomfortable.

"Dean, everyone's staring."

"Yeah, they're just jealous that you're wearing blue jeans, and they had to dress up. They envy the comfort, dude." Dean put his arm around Cas' shoulders, and lead Cas behind the hostess.

The hostess lead them to the table, and seated them both, handing them their menus. "Your waitress will be with you shortly."

Cas was at a loss for words, so he just stared intently at the menu. Dean kept glancing towards Cas, hoping he'd say something, but after minutes of silence, he gave up and looked at his menu.

The ever perky and cheerful waitress came up moments later. "Hi, I'm Becky, and I'll be your server tonight. Can I start you off with something to drink?"

"I'm fine with just the water."

"Actually, bring us a bottle of whatever wine is the special tonight." Cas gave Dean a shifty look, tilting his head a bit.

The waitress turned, smiling at Cas, "Alrighty! Are you gentlemen ready to order, or do you need a few minutes?"

"We could use a few minutes," Dean replied, eyeing her suspiciously.

"Okay! I'll be back in a couple of minutes. Holler if you need me." She rests her hand on Cas' shoulder, squeezing. "I'm just a call away." Dean glared daggers at the woman, while Cas just smiled obliviously at her. She caught Dean's look, quickly released Cas and walked away.

"Wine, Dean? And this food looks really expensive..."

"Damn it, Cas. I told you not to worry about it."

"Yeah, but Dean-"

"Get whatever you want. It's your payment, remember?"

Cas gave Dean a look somewhere between confusion and adoration, and Dean just smiled back.

The wine was brought out soon after, and the sommelier poured them both a glass. Cas smiled happily at Dean, and went to grab his glass, knocking it over in the process. It managed to pour down into Dean's lap. He leapt up in surprise, knocking over his own glass in the process.

Cas' eyes grew wide, "Oh. My. God. I'm so sorry!" He quickly grabbed a napkin and tried to wipe up the mess on Dean's pants.

"Whoa. Easy there, tiger."

Cas quickly realized what he was doing and stopped immediately, his face turning the same shade of red as the wine. He looked up at Dean, and then around the restaurant, realizing everyone was staring at him.

He looked up at Dean again, with panic in his eyes, and then he made a beeline for the exit.

Dean shouted after him. "Wait, Cas!"

But Cas was already out the door. He was looking for Dean's Impala so he could hide in it for a while. Cas hoped that Dean hadn't locked the doors.

Dean threw down some money on the table, and quickly exited the building hoping to easily find Cas. He couldn't have gone far. He looked around the parking lot, and noticed Cas sitting in the Impala, banging his head against the dashboard.

Dean opened the driver's side door, spooking Cas as he slid in next to him.

"Hey."

Cas didn't say anything.

"Mind telling me what happened in there?"

Cas sighed. "I'm an idiot and a klutz."

"Well, I knew that. I meant after," Dean teased.

"You're a jerk."

Dean couldn't help but chuckle a bit. "Why'd you run off, Cas?"

"Never mind, it's stupid..."

"Come on, buddy, you can tell me."

"Well, I spilled the wine, and everyone was staring... And then I was _rubbing_ you while everyone was staring..."

"That's probably the least awkward thing you've done in public. I wouldn't worry about it."

"Dean, they must think I'm weird."

"Yeah, but you're not with them. You're with me, and I think you're perfectly perfect just the way you are."

Cas smiled a bit. "That's why you're my friend, right? Not just because of my genius brain, or hot ass?"

"Those are just perks, Cas. Still hungry?"

"A bit. But I can't go back in there."

"We don't have to. We can go to the bar, like usual. No one thinks you're weird there."

"Yeah, sounds good."

"Just need to swing by my place and get a change of clothes."

Cas frowned. "Sorry."

"Don't worry about it. Seriously."


	2. Chapter 2

The Impala roared into Dean's driveway, the sound echoing off the nearby houses. He threw it into park, and killed the ignition.

He turned to look at Cas, noticing the pout on his face. "Hey, come inside. I don't know how long I'll take, but I don't want you getting kidnapped or something out here."

Cas shrugged. "No, I'm fine."

"I wasn't asking, Cas. Come on." Dean popped open the door, crawled out, and made his way to the passenger door, pulling it open, grabbing Cas' arm, tugging lightly. Cas let out a sigh and allowed himself to be pulled out of the car.

Dean ushered Cas forth, both hands pushing his shoulders, Cas resisting most of the way.

"What's the big deal, Cas? You've been here thousands of times."

"I just want to crawl in a hole and die."

"Don't be such a drama queen."

Dean succeeded in pushing Cas up to the door, as he fumbled with his keys, unlocking the door to his house.

"Come on. I'm not gonna bite."

Cas just sighed in response and hesitantly walked inside the door. Dean steered him towards the couch, and plopped him down.

"Here, just relax. You can watch some TV or something. I'm gonna take a quick shower, and we'll be good to go, okay?

"Yeah, okay."

Cas had never felt so awkward in Dean's house before. He'd always felt comfortable and at ease here; one of the few places he could be himself without feeling judged. Now, though, after the events of the night he was fidgety and unsure what to do with himself while he waited for Dean.

He spied Dean's laptop over on the coffee table and headed over for it. Might as well check to make sure Dean hadn't managed to download any viruses like he had a few weeks earlier. It was the only thing Cas could think of to do while he waited, since Dean seemed to be taking his time.

Cas lifted the lid, and the screen flickered to life. He wasn't quite expecting what he saw on the screen, and that's the moment Dean decided to come back, towel in hand. He smiled at Cas, and then saw the laptop on his lap, and his eyes grew wide.

"Uh... What are you doing, Cas?"

"Is this a picture of us from high school? Why is it your desktop background?"

"Must be a glitch or something, dude."

"Uh... Dean? You realize who you're talking to? Glitches don't do this."

"Well, uh... I just really like that picture?" Dean finished running the towel through his hair, and tried to hide his face from Cas, not really wanting to hear his response.

"Yeah, it's a nice picture, I guess. Are you done primping yourself now? Can we go to the bar?"

Dean could feel his body unclench. That wasn't what he was expecting. "I figured we'd stay in, since you wanted to crawl into a hole and die and all that..."

"Aww, aren't you just the sweetest?"

Dean headed to his tiny kitchen, and pulled open his refrigerator door. "So what'll it be? I have a Hungry Man Frozen Dinner... Oooor some leftover spaghetti."

"You did just attempt to take me to an Italian restaurant, so... spaghetti?"

"You sure you're not a Hungry Man?"

"Dean, don't be such a dork."

"Pot. Kettle."

Dean shut the door to the fridge, and scrounged around his cupboards for some bowls, trying to make as much noise as possible to make it seem like he was working harder than he was.

"So, are you going to explain to me why you took me there? And why you were dressed up?"

"Just thought it was a nice change from the bar, I guess... Plus, it was your payment." He plopped some spaghetti in some bowls, and stuck them in the microwave, dialing in a few minutes, and hitting start. The whir of it giving a nice ambiance to their conversation.

"You could have paid me in greasy chicken wings, I wouldn't care."

"I just wanted it to be, I dunno... Special?"

The microwave beeped, signaling the food was ready.

"What? Special? Why?"

"Just to show you I appreciate you, I guess."

"Isn't that what the 'paying me' part is all about?"

He went back to the fridge to grab himself a beer. "You know what, Cas? Never mind. Would you like a beer?"

"I've known you for forever, and I honestly had no idea you owned a pair of khakis..."

He grabbed Cas a beer anyway, and let the door shut behind him as he walked into the tiny living room. "Dude, shut up."

"And now I ruined them..."

Dean placed a plate of food and a bottle of beer down in front of him before he could beat himself up anymore. "Here. Drink some beer. Eat some spaghetti."

There was a comfortable silence that fell upon them as Cas dug into the not-yet-completely-warm spaghetti. Dean was too hungry to notice. Or care.

"So... Dean..."

"Yes, Cas?"

"How long have you 'appreciated' me?"

Dean nearly choked on his noodle. Cas was clearly more perceptive than Dean gave him credit for. "What do you mean?"

"Most of the time, I'm half convinced that you sabotage your computer on purpose. No normal person has that many computer problems."

"When have I ever been normal?"

"Was tonight a date, Dean?"

"Did it... _feel_ like a date?"

"Well, you picked me up, and were dressed up... And took me to dinner, where you had reservations... And then I gave you a hand job in front of the entire restaurant. Sounds like a typical date to me."

"Then yes. It was a date. Is that bad?"

"Nope. But... next time? You don't have to take me anywhere fancy. I'm happy with just sitting on your couch, drinking a beer next to you."

"Wait, really? You're okay with this?"

Cas didn't answer at first... He simply scooped a mouthful of noodles into his mouth, and chewed slowly. "Yeah, Dean. I've liked you for a long time. I just figured you never liked a nerd like me."

"But I love your nerdiness the most." No, that wasn't girly at all...

Cas turned to face Dean and just stared at him, not saying a word.

Dean narrowed his eyes. "What?"

Cas titled his head in response. "Nothing..."

Dean wiped his mouth, making sure there wasn't a stray noodle or something hanging on his face. "If you keep staring like that, you're going to give me a complex."

"Never mind, Dean." Cas reached for his beer, but continued staring at Dean, eyes never moving. He took a swig, and sighed a long drawn out, "Soooo..."

"How's your spaghetti?"

Cas gave him a double-take, and sighed... He waited a moment and let out a fake yawn, and stretched a bit. "I sure am getting tired. Do you think you could drive me home now?"

"Well, I was kind of hoping-"

"I guess I could call a cab."

"Cas, listen to me."

"What?"

Dean took a deep breath, and squeezed his eyes shut. "I like you, okay? A lot. And I'm sorry that this 'date' turned out the way it did... but I want to make it up to you, okay? You can even pick the restaurant. And I don't want you to go home right now, either. I want you to sit here with me, and drink beers as we reminisce about the good ol' days, and then pass out on the couch."

Cas just sat there, silently staring at him... Dean could hear a clock in the distance. Either that, or he was imagining one. Counting the seconds, minutes passing by.

"So... Do we have a deal?"

Cas blinked a few times, and opened his mouth, before quickly shutting it again. He tilted his head, and stared for a few more moment.

"You're freaking me out, Cas."

Another few moments passed by. "Deal. But there's a few conditions we need to establish."

Dean swallowed hard, not sure what to expect. "Oh yeah?"

"Yes. First: no more fancy dates."

He nodded. "That's doable."

"Second: you need to actually _ask_ me out on a date. No 'surprise' dates."

He nodded again. "Alright."

"And finally: no more wine. I don't want a repeat rub down in public again."

He couldn't help but smirk. "What? But that was the best part. We even had an audience. I bet they were getting a kick out of it."

"Do we got a deal, Dean?"

"Fine. Deal."

Cas stuck out his hand. "Shake on it?"

"No."

"What? Why?"

"I seal my deals with a kiss." Dean, grabbed Cas' hand, and pulled him closer.


End file.
